Chapter 4:
Present...
"Awww..." Pumbaa said after Ma told him the story. Ma was peeling back some more tree bark to collect some more bugs for a snack. "Mr. Buzz picked you for his mate. That's so beautiful."
"I wasn't expecting that from him." Ma smiled and handed Pumbaa a few grubs, to which he slurped right out of her paws. Ma twitched her nose and wiped the saliva off her paws. "It wasn't the appropriate mating time, so we had to wait a few months more before we had Timon."
"Ahhh..." Pumbaa then blinked. "I just thought of something."
"Really?" Ma mused.
"I've never seen the meerkats here fight for the top three and earn the right to mate. I mean, Timon didn't fight to prove he was strong enough to be given the right to mate."
"He fought a hyena. Besides his father, he was the only meerkat to fight a hyena alone. That alone proves he's strong enough. Besides, our colony stopped doing the competition a long time ago."
"Why?"
"We got with the times, I suppose. Too much disappointment and aggression from the losing males of the colony."
Pumbaa rubbed the back of his neck. "Gee... so I guess Timon never got to fight, huh?"
"He did, actually... but if I told it to you now, it would kind of throw off the current storyline."
Pumbaa blinked a few times. "Storyline?"
Ma put a paw on her hip. "Well, aren't you going to ask what happened to Shomari after he left, or when he returned to try to take control of our colony? You know, the storyline of the colony life before Timon was born."
"Oh, sure! Sorry, I guess I didn't think of those questions yet."
Ma chuckled, "You're forgiven." She sat down in front of Pumbaa and popped a grub into her mouth. "So, which do you want to hear about?"
"What happened to Shomari after he left the colony? If you know how it happened, I mean. I guess you wouldn't be there..." Pumbaa nervously dug his hoof in the ground.
"He told me what happened before his colony moved to the oasis. Shomari had become a rogue, having left our colony to find another and try to win the mating rights there..."
6 1/2 years ago...
Shomari had found a hollowed log to sleep in during the night. It was moldy and cracked, but beggars can't be choosers. He found it last night after he walked for an hour after leaving the colony. When the sun rose the next morning he went in search of a new meerkat colony. He stopped to stretch a moment, a bit sore from last night's fights. After that he continued on his way... until he saw the shadow of a bird looming overhead. He looked up and gasped, seeing it was in fact a Martial eagle. He dove into the nearest hole he could find, avoiding the swooping eagle. He slid down the tunnel and landed at the feet of a tall meerkat.
"What are you doing here, rogue?" he asked.
Shomari stood and dusted himself off. "Avoiding an eagle." He took a look around, seeing he had landed in this meerkat colony's central meeting tunnel, where all the meerkats gather when a predator attacks to make sure all were accounted for.
"I don't harbor rogues. Get out. We have to prepare for tonight's first-year competition."
"So, yours starts tonight, eh?"
"We're not taking any applications for new members. We don't have any vacant nests for you to roost in."
"It seems to me, chief," Shomari said as he took a brief look at his claws, "that since the competition starts tonight, you'll have plenty of nests vacant."
"As long as I'm here we're not open to rogues. So leave now or die." The meerkat yelped as Shomari leapt onto him and attacked him. The meerkats standing by gasped at the sudden attack between their companion and this rogue. A few females looked away as their companion let out a scream, and then went silent.
Shomari dusted his paws off and approached the group. "All right then... it seems to me that there's a vacancy opened now. So why wait for tonight, eh?"
"You just..." a female couldn't bring herself to say the words.
Shomari stepped up to her and looked her over. "I need a place to stay. He wasn't going to let me stay. So, I had to resort to... desperate measures. Was he your leader?"
"He was..." she nodded.
"That alone should prove I'm strong. So, why should I go through the competition a second time? And why dirty my claws and teeth on you weak mob members to prove I'm strong?"
"Now hold on!" a male meerkat growled as he stepped up to Shomari. "What do you mean by that?"
"If your leader was this easy to take down," Shomari said in a low voice, "then doesn't that imply this mob's members are weaker? Maybe that's why there are less members than in my former mob." Shomari took a moment to count heads. "Only twenty here including myself." He took a brief glance at the tunnel. "Yet you manage to build some nice tunnels."
"We pride ourselves on construction, not brute strength," the female said.
"Well, that's going to change. I'm going to watch how the males of this colony fight, and then determine the best course of training you myself."
"Why do we need training?" a second male asked.
"Because I am not yet finished with my former colony... not by a long shot." He took a second look at the female that spoke out to him. "Your name?"
"Dalila."
"Congratulations, Dalila. You've been picked to be my mate."
"What?"
"You can't just--!" the first male said, then stopped when Shomari bared his teeth and growled.
"Don't question my strength, pup. I made it to the final six last night, so don't be foolish and try to challenge me. You fight for the final two and then we'll see."
"We'll see, indeed... what's your name anyway?"
"Shomari. Remember it." He then turned to Dalila, his face suddenly changing from harsh with a flash of a smile. "So, lead me to this nest of yours and then we'll await the night's events."
Dalila shyly nodded and started walking away. When they left, the meerkats in the colony bowed their heads in remembrance of their leader. After a few moments, they lifted their heads up. Two members walked over to remove the body.
"We can't fight him?" a male asked.
"You saw what he did to our leader. We wouldn't stand a chance," a male replied.
"Then what'll we do?"
"Hope he's a good leader and stay on his good side. We'll see what he has in mind of training and then see why he left his old colony."
To be continued...
Present...
"Awww..." Pumbaa said after Ma told him the story. Ma was peeling back some more tree bark to collect some more bugs for a snack. "Mr. Buzz picked you for his mate. That's so beautiful."
"I wasn't expecting that from him." Ma smiled and handed Pumbaa a few grubs, to which he slurped right out of her paws. Ma twitched her nose and wiped the saliva off her paws. "It wasn't the appropriate mating time, so we had to wait a few months more before we had Timon."
"Ahhh..." Pumbaa then blinked. "I just thought of something."
"Really?" Ma mused.
"I've never seen the meerkats here fight for the top three and earn the right to mate. I mean, Timon didn't fight to prove he was strong enough to be given the right to mate."
"He fought a hyena. Besides his father, he was the only meerkat to fight a hyena alone. That alone proves he's strong enough. Besides, our colony stopped doing the competition a long time ago."
"Why?"
"We got with the times, I suppose. Too much disappointment and aggression from the losing males of the colony."
Pumbaa rubbed the back of his neck. "Gee... so I guess Timon never got to fight, huh?"
"He did, actually... but if I told it to you now, it would kind of throw off the current storyline."
Pumbaa blinked a few times. "Storyline?"
Ma put a paw on her hip. "Well, aren't you going to ask what happened to Shomari after he left, or when he returned to try to take control of our colony? You know, the storyline of the colony life before Timon was born."
"Oh, sure! Sorry, I guess I didn't think of those questions yet."
Ma chuckled, "You're forgiven." She sat down in front of Pumbaa and popped a grub into her mouth. "So, which do you want to hear about?"
"What happened to Shomari after he left the colony? If you know how it happened, I mean. I guess you wouldn't be there..." Pumbaa nervously dug his hoof in the ground.
"He told me what happened before his colony moved to the oasis. Shomari had become a rogue, having left our colony to find another and try to win the mating rights there..."
6 1/2 years ago...
Shomari had found a hollowed log to sleep in during the night. It was moldy and cracked, but beggars can't be choosers. He found it last night after he walked for an hour after leaving the colony. When the sun rose the next morning he went in search of a new meerkat colony. He stopped to stretch a moment, a bit sore from last night's fights. After that he continued on his way... until he saw the shadow of a bird looming overhead. He looked up and gasped, seeing it was in fact a Martial eagle. He dove into the nearest hole he could find, avoiding the swooping eagle. He slid down the tunnel and landed at the feet of a tall meerkat.
"What are you doing here, rogue?" he asked.
Shomari stood and dusted himself off. "Avoiding an eagle." He took a look around, seeing he had landed in this meerkat colony's central meeting tunnel, where all the meerkats gather when a predator attacks to make sure all were accounted for.
"I don't harbor rogues. Get out. We have to prepare for tonight's first-year competition."
"So, yours starts tonight, eh?"
"We're not taking any applications for new members. We don't have any vacant nests for you to roost in."
"It seems to me, chief," Shomari said as he took a brief look at his claws, "that since the competition starts tonight, you'll have plenty of nests vacant."
"As long as I'm here we're not open to rogues. So leave now or die." The meerkat yelped as Shomari leapt onto him and attacked him. The meerkats standing by gasped at the sudden attack between their companion and this rogue. A few females looked away as their companion let out a scream, and then went silent.
Shomari dusted his paws off and approached the group. "All right then... it seems to me that there's a vacancy opened now. So why wait for tonight, eh?"
"You just..." a female couldn't bring herself to say the words.
Shomari stepped up to her and looked her over. "I need a place to stay. He wasn't going to let me stay. So, I had to resort to... desperate measures. Was he your leader?"
"He was..." she nodded.
"That alone should prove I'm strong. So, why should I go through the competition a second time? And why dirty my claws and teeth on you weak mob members to prove I'm strong?"
"Now hold on!" a male meerkat growled as he stepped up to Shomari. "What do you mean by that?"
"If your leader was this easy to take down," Shomari said in a low voice, "then doesn't that imply this mob's members are weaker? Maybe that's why there are less members than in my former mob." Shomari took a moment to count heads. "Only twenty here including myself." He took a brief glance at the tunnel. "Yet you manage to build some nice tunnels."
"We pride ourselves on construction, not brute strength," the female said.
"Well, that's going to change. I'm going to watch how the males of this colony fight, and then determine the best course of training you myself."
"Why do we need training?" a second male asked.
"Because I am not yet finished with my former colony... not by a long shot." He took a second look at the female that spoke out to him. "Your name?"
"Dalila."
"Congratulations, Dalila. You've been picked to be my mate."
"What?"
"You can't just--!" the first male said, then stopped when Shomari bared his teeth and growled.
"Don't question my strength, pup. I made it to the final six last night, so don't be foolish and try to challenge me. You fight for the final two and then we'll see."
"We'll see, indeed... what's your name anyway?"
"Shomari. Remember it." He then turned to Dalila, his face suddenly changing from harsh with a flash of a smile. "So, lead me to this nest of yours and then we'll await the night's events."
Dalila shyly nodded and started walking away. When they left, the meerkats in the colony bowed their heads in remembrance of their leader. After a few moments, they lifted their heads up. Two members walked over to remove the body.
"We can't fight him?" a male asked.
"You saw what he did to our leader. We wouldn't stand a chance," a male replied.
"Then what'll we do?"
"Hope he's a good leader and stay on his good side. We'll see what he has in mind of training and then see why he left his old colony."
To be continued...